Financial Crime World

Financial Crimes in SA Banking Sector Cost Billions Annually

South Africa’s banking sector and its customers have suffered significant losses due to a surge in financial crimes such as ATM bombings, digital banking fraud, and bank robberies.

Key Statistics

  • Over R1 billion was lost by the South African banking sector and its customers in the past year.
  • Contact crimes like robbery at ATMs and bank branches increased by 17%, resulting in losses of R21.2 million.
  • ATM bombings saw a significant increase of 23% between 2021 and 2022 to 441 incidents, despite the activation of dye-stain on banknotes.

ATM Bombings: A Growing Concern

  • Losses incurred as a result of ATM attacks rose by 59% to R45.2 million in 2022.
  • In some cases, perpetrators still managed to remove the stained cash.

Digital Banking Fraud: On the Rise

  • Digital banking fraud incidents increased by 36%.
  • Phishing and vishing scams were used to deceive victims into divulging sensitive information.
  • Phishing emails led victims to counterfeit websites closely resembling legitimate bank websites.
  • Vishing was employed to acquire one-time pins (OTPs) and random verification numbers (RVNs).
  • Online banking fraud incidents increased by 9%, resulting in the highest average financial losses per incident.
  • Mobile banking fraud incidents decreased by 9% in 2022.
  • Card fraud, including debit and credit, dropped by 18.4%, with losses amounting to over R800 million.

Call for Action

Sabric chief executive Nischal Mewalall emphasized the need for urgent, sustained action to combat financial crime, citing the importance of collaboration among government entities, the private sector, and civil society.

“We must work together to prevent these crimes from happening in the first place. This requires a concerted effort from all stakeholders to educate customers about the risks and take steps to mitigate them,” said Mewalall.